


The Street Kid

by BJW



Category: Batfamily - Fandom, DC Comics
Genre: Gen, Gotham City - Freeform, Time Travel, street kids/and rich kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-18 11:56:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BJW/pseuds/BJW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damian Wayne gets stuck in the past and has to stay low until he can be rescued, but while he's waiting he runs into the younger version of his brotherly nemesis also known as Jason Todd. This version of Todd hasn't been Robin yet, and around the city he's known as just a clever street kid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Another Time.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to give me feed back and also check out my Tumblr @Jason-maryfreakenpoppins-todd. You can talk with me there too! :)

“Damian?... Damian...” My father whispers to me as I start to open my eyes and instantly feel a raging headache. 

“Father?...W-where am I?”

“An alley in Gotham city... But something's not right.” he pulls me to my feet and then I follow him to the end of the alleyway. “What do you remember?” 

“uhh... I don't know. I think... I think we were at the bank...” It starts to become more clear to me. “We were trying to stop a bank robbery, but something happened.” 

Batman looks at me and grabs me by the shoulder forcibly turning me to him in anger. “Yes, that something being 'you'. I told you to wait for my command. You disobeyed me. Now look at the mess you got us into.”

I look around but I notice nothing unusual. “What mess are you referring to, father?”

“Look to the barbers shop twenty meters down the road.”

I inch closer to the wall and stare down in the dark. “What about it?”

“That barber shop went out of business six years ago and this whole entire area was abandoned and rundown.” Batman walks out into the road and I follow behind him but then he came to a sudden stop. “It's impossible.” 

“What is, father?”

“All of this.” he points to the street sign that use to say 'Welcome to Park Row' but now it's been graffiti over with 'Welcome to Hell'. “That sign was taken down three years ago. This whole area was nicknamed the 'lost slums'. They moved everyone out of this part a couple years back for renovation.”

“You think we time traveled somehow?”

“It looks like it. Let's get back to the manor as soon as we can. Hopefully my younger self won't give us any trouble.”

“You think you would?”

“Depends on how long I've been Batman. When I was more green, my lack of experience caused me to be a very suspicious person. If that's the case then let me do all the talking and whatever you do don't mention your my partner... or my son.” 

We ran down the dark and seemingly deserted slums, but came to a stop when we saw that the entire city of Gotham was in a blackout. We both reach to our comm link trying to contact the batwing, batcave and batmobile. “The radio is down... This shouldn't be... The backup generators in the cave should be able to keep the systems up even in a blackou--” 

“What is it?” I looked up at Batman who was now silent and then looked down at me. 

“I know what year this is. I remember this day now... Whatever that gun that we were shot with was, it sent us back in time nine years, which isn't goo--” 

He was cut off by a flash of lightning that threw him into a wall. "BATMAN!" I couldn't see what it was that hit him, there was nothing around, but I can only assume it was a speedster. I heard the wind storm up like a train coming toward us fast, but before I could see anything it went past me and to Batman again. 

“Robin get your--” Batman disappears right before my eyes. 

"Batman?!" and just like that, I was alone. I start to feel panic rising in the pit of my stomach but I quickly refuse to let it control my emotions. I am an Al Ghul after all. Trained since I could walk. Panic is a feeling that inferior people experience. It's not for people like me, the son of Batman.  
“Guess I'm on my own.” I walk down the street.

I heard a burglary alarm go off in the distance. It's a call for duty, and I see no reason to ignore it. This may not be in my time, but it's still my father's city. I leap into a sprint to stop the crime in progress that was only a few blocks away. I was taking short cuts through the alleyways to get to the store faster and when I was a block away something caught my eye. A boy about my size ran into my side knocking me off my feet. He hit me with enough force to knock the wind out of me momentarily. I wasn't sure if it was a direct assault or an accident, but judging by the sheer force it was most likely on purpose, or the boy simply didn't see me coming. Either way, one thing for sure, he's running away from the alarm, which makes it safe to assume he's guilty and is the culprit behind setting it off. 

I look at him as he tries to get back on his feet, while I huff for air still. I'll give him this much, for a child that has no armor on, he's handling the pain of the collision very well, but I'm not about to let a street kid with no training outdo me. So, I trip him and pull him back down into a rustling match. He was definitely in 'flight mode', not fight mode, as he tries to pry my hand off himself. 

"What's the big idea, kid? You want me to get arrested or somethin? Let go of me!" the child said as he rustles with me, then drops his bag of cash to use both his hands in the fight. Did this cretin really just call me 'kid'?

"I'm sorry to spoil your fun, you imbecile, but isn't it past your bedtime?" 

He punches me in the face. I don't know why I didn't see it coming. He rolls on top of me and pins me down with his weight, for the moment. "Well, would'cha look at that." he taps the 'R' on my chest, "Why you all dressed up fancy? You someone special?" 

I glare and then quickly escape his attack and put him in a headlock to restrain him. "I'm Robin. The son of Batman. And you are about to learn the meaning of 'respect'."

"'Robin'? You actually call yourself, 'Robin'?" he starts chuckling despite me choking him. "Batman doesn't have a kid! From what I hear, he ain't even human."

“I assure you, you are most uninformed on the matter, and wrong on both accounts.”

“Just cuz you claim to be Batman's son, don't make it true.”

" 'Doesn't make it true'. And I said—" a bright light shines on both of us as a bunch of cops come running toward us while pulling out their guns. 

"Hold it! Put your hands up! Both of you!" One of the cops said.

“I've caught the thief, Officer. You can thank me later.” I let go of the boy and start to walk away.

“I said 'both' of you put your hands up!”

“I think he's talking to you, fancy pants.” the boy said grinning at me.

"Excuse me?" I said, to both the cop and the boy.

"You're not excused. You, kids, are both under arrest."

“What? I'm Robin. I'm on your side!”

“You're who?” the other cop said.

"Robin... The..." I had to settle nausea turning in my stomach with the thought of what I was about to call myself. "The boy wonder."

“The boy-- what now?”

“He 'means', he's Peter Pans pet fairy, Tinkerbell.” the child said. This boy is most insufferable. I had the strong urge to pound him into the ground and with great effort resisted the temptation.

“I don't care whose pet you are. I'm still taking you both in.”

"I will have to politely decline, Officer." I said and then leaped forward attacking the three cops. I did my best not to hurt them too much. Clearly Robin doesn't exist yet, and I'm giving Gotham's first impression of him a bad one, but I'm sure it won't be too damaging of an outcome. I'll just let the young Dick Grayson and young Bruce Wayne deal with it if a problem arises. I look to a noise coming from behind me amidst the battle to see the child escaping with the bag of money. I need to finish this fight quickly so I can catch the punk.

I quickly get back on the child's trail. He sees me and keeps running. He swiftly leaps over a six-foot fence and leads me on a maze-like chase and takes me to places he thinks I won't follow, but every challenge he throws at me I conquer with ease and beauty. He's fast and athletic and a bit of a daredevil, but he has no idea who he's messing with. 

I follow him around a corner, but I was met with an empty dead end. I look up at the roofs to see if he had climbed the three stories. He's fast, but he can't be that fast. He must have found a hiding spot nearby, then I see a sewers entrance. Oh, yes, a perfect place for a street rat to hide. I pull it open and look down. I stick my head in and then climb down the ladder. I snap a glow stick and walk down the dark sewer tunnels. For a moment I feel the wind blow my cape and realize he's right behind me, probably hoping I won't notice he's there. I turn around quickly and reach forward to grab him, but find myself grasping the wind and then notice water dripping down from the entrance above. I look up and he was standing outside of the sewers entrance looking down at me with a grin on his face. 

“It's been fun, 'Robin'. But some of us actually have a family to feed. Oh! And next time, do yourself a favor and stay out of my neighborhood!” he shut the lid as I quickly race up the ladder. 

"Tut... 'His' neighborhood." I hissed to myself as I get to the opening while something loud was dragging across the cement above me. I push on the lid, but nothing gives. Something very heavy was on top of it. I hate to admit it, but he's rather resourceful. "Let me out of here right now, you brat! Or I'm going to tell your mother that she has a crook for a son!" As much as my tantrums usually work on other people, they don't seem to be scaring on this punk. I'm not worried, though, because it won't be long before I'm knocking on this punks front door with the cops standing behind me. I can already see the surprised look on his face. 


	2. So we meet again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian is still stuck several years in the past when he runs into that street kid from the night before. This time he's ready to teach the boy a lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter! And I really hope that the offensive dialect doesn't offend anyone, because that is NOT my intention. I'm just trying to capture the sassy immaturity of two boys that like to step on each others toes. (So to speak)... Enjoy!

It took me twenty minutes to find a way out of the sewers. I walk the streets of Gotham for a couple hours tryimg to find a way back to the cave, but all the secret entrances were either nonexistent or locked down in the blackout that besieged Gotham. The bridge from the manor to the city was drawn-up. I had to find away over somehow, but I started to grow weak from exhaustion and ended up sleeping in an alley under some cardboard just as the sun started to rise. 

I rise from my slumber in the late afternoon, and went to someone's backyard where they have a laundry line strung up between two trees with clean laundry dangling from it. I grab a ragged sweater that was my size and put it on over my body armor just as a woman comes out the back door and frowns at me. “Hey, boy? Is that yours?”

“Consider it payment for protecting this city? It's the least you could do.” I reach down and pick up my yellow cape and take it with me to stash away someplace safe. I do feel bad stealing from a poor family, but in this part of Gotham that's my only option. I can't be walking around in the day time in my Robin costume, it would draw too much attention.

After walking down the street a few miles, trying to come up with a plan to get back to my own time period, I become distracted from my mission when I see a boy that reminded me of the rascal I ran into last night. I finally get a glimpse of his face and I am most certain it is the same child that robbed that store and locked me in the sewers. So, I start following him, hoping he would lead me to his home so that I can inform his parents of his wayward behavior in hopes that they will discipline him and set him on the 'straight and narrow'. I think I am being much more generous than he deserves.

The boy walks up to a strip bar where two harlots were working the corner during the daytime. “Hey there Miss Shirley, Miss Hope.” he calls out to them. I stop and lean against a light post across the street from him, trying to look inconspicuous.

“Hey Jason. You know, a good looking boy like yourself really shouldn't come to this part of the neighborhood. You never know if a gal might try and steal a kiss from yuh.” She swooped down and kissed his cheek.

He blushes and rubs his cheek where she kissed him. “Miss Shirley, you got me in trouble last time. My mom was trying to figure out who been kissing me. She says I'm too young to be dating girls.”

She grins and starts wiping her lipstick off his face. “Just tell your mom it was a girl that couldn't resist. First gentlemen she's ever come across.”

“Oh hey, I got you girls something.” He hands her a paper bag.

“Why you spoiling us with all this food all the time, Jason? I hope you aren't sharing your portion?... You got to take care of yourself so you can grow up strong and healthy and take care of girls like us.” She tries handing him back the bag of food, but he pushes it back to her.

“Aw, it's nothin. I had plenty.”

“Really? Cuz you got one skinny ass, boy. You better be taking care of yourself, and I mean it.”

“Don't worry, I do...” He grins up at her and then kisses her hand, she laughs, then he gives them the 'peace' sign. “Peace-out, pussies.”

The women both laugh again. “Do you even know what that means, Jason?”

“It means 'girl', doesn't it?”

“Not quite. You be careful now, lil Jay.” She slaps his butt, but he doesn't seem flustered by it at all, then he walks into the strip bar. I was about to follow him but decided to stay outside just a couple minutes before walking in. Just when I was about to cross the street to go in, he comes back out, wearing a backpack and a book in one arm.

“Bye ladies!” he waves to them and starts walking down the street.

“You stay out of trouble now!”

I start to cross the street to follow him when suddenly a car in the street slams on their breaks coming to a stop parallel to where the 'Jason' was on the sidewalk. Three nasty looking men get out of the car, making loud noises that almost mimic catcalling. They start walking towards the brat. He backs away, then drops his book and starts running and the three men are quickly in pursuit after him. One of the harlots run after them and throws a rock at the men.

“You leave that boy alone!” both women tried running after them, but in their stilettos and tight skirts, they were nowhere near catching up. I quickly ran past the harlots to stop those men from whatever they are up to. The fourth man who was still in the car, speeds past the kid and drives onto the sidewalk, cutting him off. Forcing him to turn down an alley that is most likely a dead end, or a trap.

“Let me go!” I hear the boy yell, not more than a few seconds after he went around the corner and into the alleyway. So it was a trap. Instead of racing to his rescue like a hero, I sneak behind cars, hiding, so I can investigate like a detective... or maybe my heart just wasn't in it. The scamp deserves to have the fear of Gotham put into him and maybe he'll think twice about being a crook.

“Where is it?” I hear a man growl out the words.

“I told you I don't got it. Falcone's men didn't give me nothin! I swear!” They rip off his backpack and start going through it. They pull out a teddy bear.

“We got a snitch in the group, kid. Fish thinks it's you. Thinks you sold us out to Falcone. I don't want to believe it, but I got to ask myself... What's a little ten-year-old boy like yourself doing with a teddy? You like playing with dolls?” One of the men stabs the teddy with his blade and rips it open and pulls out a plastic bag that contained white powder. They look back at the boy, angry. “You been stealing from us?!” 

“Just how stupid do you think I am? I would never steal from high-quality black ballers like yourself. I would have to have a death wish or somethin!”

“Well, maybe you do, or maybe you don't... Or maybe you're just a whole lot smarter than you look.”

“I ain't listening to this shit.” One of the men lifts the child off the ground and pushes him against the wall hard and starts shaking him violently. “This little brat goes around lying, spying, cheating and stealing all the time. I've seen him in action with my own eyes... He ain't called 'Fox' for nothin.”

“He's called fox?... How did I miss that?” one loser says.

“Jack means his name 'Todd'... It means fox, idiot. And this boy is just like his old man... a real cunning 'traitor'.”

“Oh... How was I supposed to know the meaning of his surname? What'cha yuh think I am? A bookie!?” All the men roll their eyes at their fellow moron and turn their attention back to Jr. moron.

The man grabs him by the throat and chokes the kid then shakes him again. “I learned the hard way that you can't believe a word coming out of this boy's mouth. He's for hire for the biggest bidder and if you got the dough, he'll betray anyone. I've seen it. He's a scheming little bitch!” The child was smiling. “What you smiling at? You think that's funny?”

“No. But I think you whining like a little baby about it, is.”

The man slapped him in the face three times and then threw him violently against the opposite wall. I was about to intervene when another man held him back before he continues assaulting the child.

Jason slowly starts to get up off the ground. “Wow, petunia. That 'almost' hurt. Maybe you should try little harder next time.” he quickly kicks the guy between the legs and then races up the wall in a run to flip himself over a six-foot tall man. He lands on his feet and kicks him in the down-low from behind. I'll admit, the kid has some moves. He then grabs his backpack and slams it against another guy's head and then dodging another assault before running to the end of the alley. “See you later, Hijos de puta!” He waves before he passes the car I was hiding behind and then runs across the street.

“After him!” the men start running and I follow them, but keeping my distance so not to be noticed. They start pulling out their guns and fire at the boy. I run toward them faster trying to stop them from killing the kid but they stop before I get there. “We won't catch him on foot. Get in the car!” they race to their car and speed down the road. I keep going on foot, hoping to find the boy before the gangsters do.

I come to a dead end and look around, trying to find a clue of where the boy went, then I notice something odd about a spot down low on a brick wall fence. I reach down to investigate and discover that it's a false spot in the wall that's actually just a piece of cloth that is nailed to the wall and painted most artistically to blend in with its surrounding.

“Hmm. Clever indeed.” I crawl through the hole that is barely big enough to fit me and pass through thorny bushes to discover that I'm now in a different part of the city that's blocked off. It's a safe bet that those gangsters won't find him anytime soon, which makes everything that much easier for me. I walk down the sidewalk and come to a graveyard of cars. I hear talking and sneak around the corner of the cars corpses to see the boy standing there, talking to three other ten-year old's. So, he got his morning run in and now he's off socializing. Either this is the norms of life in this part of town or the child is a psychopath... Why am I feeling surprised by my own clever hypothesis?

“You wanna come with us, Jason? We're gonna dig up a grave. A 'real' one.”

“Nah, sounds kinda dull.”

“Oh, I see. You just have more important things to do like stealing from crime lords.”

“No. If I'm gonna risk going to jail for something it's not going to be for digging up a dead body just for fun. My mom's depending on me. I'm the man of the house now.”

“Suit yourself, Jason. Hey, we're going to Micheal’s house afterward. You wanna meet us there?”

“Why? You guys going to murder bugs again? If that's the case, forget it. I don't want to be a part of that.”

“Come on, Jason! You rob people of their hard earned money and you're telling me you got a problem with blowing up ant mounds?”

“He just wants to read his 'looove' novels.” The chubby boy amongst them says and then starts making kissing noises.

“That's not true! It's not about people kissing, Isaac. There's action in it too!”

“Hey Jay. This is you and this is your book.” He takes one hand and presses it to the other hand that is supposed to be the book and starts making more kissing noises again.

“Shut up.” he pushes Isaac away. “Why are you so childish all the time?”

“tut. Steals 'and' likes love novels... Both are good reasons why I should throw you in jail.” I say to the children as I walk out into the open. All four boys look at me and frown.

“Hey, don't I know you?” the criminal called 'Jason' says.

I narrow my eyes on the boy. “You're the brat that was running from the cops last night.”

The other boys hearing that their pal escaped the cops start grinning and give him a high-five. “Whoa! Sweet, dude!” 

“I left out the best part. Where he runs away and leaves me to fight the cops.”

“I sure did. And Mr. 'I'm gonna tell your mom' here, tried to follow me... So I locked him down in the sewers... like the little shit he is.” He smirks at me as if he's testing my patience. 

“Wild, man!” one of his minions says.

“If you think that is wild, you should know a little about my life. I killed a man on my fifth birthday because he took away my chocolate cake. So just imagine what I would do to thieves? Oh, and uh, what was it you called me a second ago?”

“Ewwwe, you hear that, guys? This one's got his twelve-year-old molars. I think I'm scared.” He smirks as his friends laugh at his mockery. “But since we're taking a stroll down 'memory lane', correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I tell you to stay out of my neighborhood?”

“Yes, and I would have complied if it weren't for the fact that this is 'my' city.”

“Oh, dude. I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was 'your' city. I thought this was still America. You know, 'home of the white people'.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I cross my arms and glare at the punk.

“I thought it was 'home of the free'?” His Hispanic minion says.

“'tt' Sorry to break it to you, chico. But your pale skinned friend is not only a wanted criminal, but he's also white trash privilege.”

“Nah, dude. Jason wouldn't be like that.”

“If you believe that, then you are clearly as dumb as you look.”

“Hey! Don't talk about my boy Richie like that, you stuck up terrorist.” Jason says with furrowed brows.

This criminal is quite persistent in irritating me and must be dealt with accordingly. “I’m willing to bet you're a mama's boy?... And you probably think you are the cutest thing ever too, don't you... 'Jason Fox'?”

He frowns and then rolls his eyes as if I was the weird one. “Yeah. I'm a mama's boy alright. And the chick's dig me cuz of it.” he says with that smug expression that says 'please punch me'.

“Yeah, it's true.” His minion said.

He frowns at Richie and pushes him. “Stay out of it, amigo.”

“Annnnd you're vain. You are one mess of a child. I should be fair and warn you that I am not as compassionate as Batman.”

“Oh that's right. You think you're the Batfreak's son. Hey, what happened to the bright and shining yellow cape?”

Blaring gunshots interrupt us as bullets bounce off of surroundings, barely missing us as all five of us drop to our stomachs.

“All right, kids! Nobody has to die unless you protect the fu*ker named Jason. If you hand him over right now, I might have half a mind to buy you ice-cream afterward.”

“Oh god, Jason! They're gonna kill us!”

“Keep it down and get a grip.” he puts his hand over Richie's mouth. “I'm not going to let them kill you guys... Or me. So you guys are going to distract and I'm going to attack. And if you're up to it, you can join in, okay?”

“Okay... okay yeah...what's the plan?”

“Isaac, Micheal. You two go to the left. Me and Richie will go right.” he looks at me. “Too bad you don't have your yellow cape. We could use a distraction while we get into position.” I glare in response to his condescending tone. “We got to take these bozos by surprise. We're gonna stay low and then act fast. If we take too long they'll figure something's up. Time to give them a beating they'll never forget.” he smirks.

They all nodded with fearful anxiety worn on their faces. It wasn't a bad plan, but since they didn't invite me, I'll just let these untrained hooligans get served. And when they are crying for their mothers right before these men kill them, I'll swoop in for the rescue.

“On three... One. Two. Th--” his friends get up and run away from the fight, not taking the plan of action and idiotically putting themselves in the line of fire. And the gangsters don't hesitate to shoot these children. One of the boys appears to have gotten shot in the leg and falls down. His buddies go back and grab him and race down the backstreet.

“Wow! Your friends are such heroes!” I say loudly over the gun shots.

“Yeah, they're fu*king idiots.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said! they're fu*king idiots! What did you think I said?.”

“And bad language...? Your mom shouldn't worry. You'll fit right in with the criminals wearing orange.”

“hmh...”

“So, since I'm a hero, I am obligated to save your sorry ass. So here's the plan.”

“Hey! I'd don't need your help. This is my fight and I don't want help from a bougie like yourself.”

“A what?”

“Just stay out of my way.” Jason tries to get up, but I pull him back down.

“Hey! You listen here, imbecile the second. I am trying to help you. Stop being so prideful and let me.”

“No. I ain't taking your help for nothin. I'd rather die than lose being my own man who gets to make his own rules.”

“Oh please! Spare me the drama.”

“Just fu*k off, Aladdin.”

“What is with you and Disney characters?”

“They're the insult of all insults. And you remind me of them.”

“Oh shut up.”

“You shut up.” Jason pushes me.

“No, you shut up... Cinderella.”

“Ooh I see. Taking from my own style. I'll take that as a compliment. Bitch!” he pushes me again.

“If you touch me one more time, street rat, I'll murder you.”

“Worst than you have tried, daffodil.”

“Shit face!” 

“Man eating llama!”

“Pig foot!”

“Butt kisser!”

“Bookworm!”

“Short hippopotamus.”

“Vegan giraffe.”

We both hear a man laughing and look up to see one of the thugs looking down at us with a gun in his hand. “We ain't interrupting your guys' cat fight, are we?”

“Damn.” we echoed each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damian's little story about killing someone when he was five, may or may not be true. :3 Your guess is as good as mine. And I made Damian a little bit of a hypocrite, but that's because he is in the comics when it comes to him judging Jason. XD
> 
> And then Jason is just, well... asking for trouble. I love writing these sassy immature kids. They are hilarious!


	3. The Prince and the Pauper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian and Jason find out that they come from two very different worlds... But maybe they still have something in common...? :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're just joining the story, here's what you need to know. Damian is several years in the past, where he meets a street kid named Jason. This chapter picks up where the last one left off.

“I'll give you one chance to run, kid. It's Jason we've come for.” The thug points his gun at Jason as his friends come to join him in the capture.

“What do you plan to do with him?” I say.

“Whatever the boss wants us to do. Now don't make me tell you twice.”

Jason looks at me. “Hey, kid. It's real honorable you trying to help me, but you really need to get out of here while they're giving you a chance.”

“No. I'm not about to let these men murder a child.”

“But you don't even know me...? This is my battle. Nobody else needs to get hurt because of what I did.” He says and without giving me a chance to say something else, he walks away with the gunmen. I'll treat it as fact that these gangsters are going to kill the child, since they think he stole a large amount of drugs from them. So, I sneakily put my hand under my sweater and into my utility belt, gripping the batarangs and waiting for the right moment to strike. Two of the men grab Jason by the arms and start dragging him to the car. I wait until the last thug takes his eyes off me, just before they shove Jason into the car, then throw a few batarangs. It hits three of the men on the back of their heads, dazing them momentarily.

The boy has a quick reaction to the changing situation and he takes full advantage of my distraction and breaks free from the thugs who were holding onto him. He pushes one mans gun towards the ground and uses the man's grip on the gun as a footing to push himself up and grab the roof of the car. He swings his legs out, striking both thugs in the face and then leaping off the car to the other man, wrapping his legs around the man's neck and with his body weight throwing him off balance before casting him to the ground. He gets to his feet and continues his assault on the two thugs, making sure they stay down. For a mutt, he's impressive. 

I run to the three other thugs and quickly start disarming them. I glance at the boy to make sure he's watching while I show him my moves. I concentrate on making it a show of awesomeness, rather than a practical fight. It seems to be working. The kid is grinning as he watches me gracefully take out the trash. I use quick punches and spend most of my time teasing instead of defeating, but then suddenly a squealing car speeding towards us, crashes the party. More guys get out of the car with machine guns and come running towards us. The kid glances in my direction and somehow I know he's thinking the exact same thing as me--It's time to run.

Yes, I could take them with no problem, but with the boy having no bulletproof armor and being the thugs priority package, his chances of getting shot are even higher. We both start racing down the back street, but the men are quickly on our trail. I let the boy lead since he seems to have more experience running away from trouble than I do.

“Over here!” he yells to me and starts taking me another direction. He runs and slides on the pavement and goes under a one-foot gap in a fence, feet first. I drop and slide too, and once on the other side, I see the boy hasn't slowed down, or bothered to look back to make sure I made it like Batman and Nightwing always do for me. I'll admit, I felt slightly offended. I understand he has no training that teaches you to always look out for your partner, but I guess I'm just surprised by his instinct. Is it independence or self-centeredness that drives this boy?

I follow him from a few meters behind and not able to catch up. For all my glorious abilities that surpass all my peers, this child is much more 'gifted' in running and climbing than myself. I cannot go through the rest of my life knowing that some street rat is better than me in anyway. Considering his breeding, my mother would be most ashamed of me. Once I get home to my own time period, I will make sure to work on my speed. 

I look behind me and hear the apes making loud noises as they chase after us. “They are still on our trail!”

“Don't worry! I got a safe place!” We race through the town changing direction as we go. The kid obviously is used to losing people. He makes this all very complicated and takes weird turns that would seem rather risky. Honestly, I can't tell if he's stupid or clever. 

“Come on! Over here!” We keep running and then he practically flies over a six-foot fence and I match his elegance. We start racing through people's backyards and jumping over old picket fences then he runs to a spot in someone's yard and pulls some brush out of the way, revealing a trap door buried underground. He opens it. “Get in.” I climb down the ladder into the dark, and for a second I wonder if this is another trap. I look back up at the entrance quickly, but he's already climbing down the ladder and shuts the lid, leaving us panting in the dark. “I don't think they'll find us down here, but we got to stay quiet.” he whispers. A moment later I hear a click and a light turns on. The boy- Jason looks at me and takes a seat. “Hey, you hungry?” he reaches down under the bench and pulls out a package of crackers, and takes one for himself and offers some to me.

My stomach starts growling, so I take a piece and sit on the bench next to him. “Is any of this even yours?” 

“Hey, I may be a thief, but I don't steal from the poor. Honest.”

“Hm.”

“This old cellar hasn't been used in years. The home owner- Mrs. Perry, she knows I use it sometimes, but she don't mind... I earn money from doing jobs around her house for her. She's a real old lady and she needs help with making dinner, cleaning the house and buying groceries and stuff. She pays me real good for helping... But... sometimes she gets confused and forgets I did something for her that she promised to pay me for... She even forgets who I am sometimes and she'll think I'm stealing or breaking into her home. She gets real upset.”

“Well, did you steal from her?”

“No. What kind of person do you think I am?”

“I was just assuming since you might think she owes you.”

“No. Sometimes people just need help. She really can't help she's forgetful. My mom says its just part of being old.”

My stomach lets out a loud growl and then followed by pain. “Forgive the noise my body is making. I guess this must be what hunger feels like.”

The boy grins at me and offers the bag of crackers to me again. “I bought this food with my honest money, so you won't be sinning by accepting it.” 

“Thanks... I haven't eaten in a day.”

There was a moment of silence as he watches me eat. “You know I don't like you very much, Robin, but I still want to say, thanks for helping me back there.”

“Don't mention it... It's my job.” I start stuffing my mouth with crackers.

“So...” he takes another cracker before I eat them all. “What kind of job do you have? Must pay well if you never been hungry before.”

“I save people and my father pays me to do so, but he only allows me access to a small amount of the money. I'm still very rich though... even without my fathers inheritance.”

“An inheritance? Wow. That must be nice... How much?”

“Well on my father's side, it's several billion dollars, probably. My mother's side, I have no idea, but it's probably a lot more than my fathers... but she said I won't be receiving a penny of it unless I’m worthy enough.”

“Whoa, I wish my parents were rich, but they- don't have any money... But one day, I'm gonna be rich. I'll have a big mansion for me and my family. And I'll have my own business so that I'll never owe anyone anything. I'll be my own boss. And I'll make enough money so I can build a few homeless shelters for moms and their kids.”

“Hm. Your ambition reminds me of my father.”

“I would probably like your dad.”

“He probably wouldn't like you though.”

“Cuz I'm a crook?”

“Yes.”

“Hn... He still seems like a cool guy though.”

“Well, I wouldn't exactly call him 'cool', but he's all right.”

“So, you said you are allowed to have a job, too?”

“Yes, well, my father employs me and pays very well.” I take another mouth stuffed full of crackers and chew, not caring to show any manners. My hunger is certainly turning me into a beast.

The boy breaks another piece of his cracker off and eats it slowly. “Man, I wish I could have a job. But everywhere I ask for one, they just say I have to be at least sixteen... There is this one guy who pays me five dollars a week to sweep the outside of his store and take the trash out every couple days. He's really nice.”

“Five dollars a week? You're kidding me?”

“No...”

“That is pathetic.”

“Well... yeah... I guess so... My mom said she was proud of me though.”

“Hm... Just out of curiosity- how old are you, Jason?”

“uh, ten.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “Did you just make that up?”

“No, I didn't.”

“Sure.” I take the last few crackers and hand him back the empty package.

He stares down into the void of emptiness for a few moments. “So... how old are you?” he says almost like he's pouting.

“I'll be twelve next month... And for your information, I got my twelve year old molars when I was your age.” 

We sit there in silence a moment and then he gets up and climbs the ladder. He lifts up the opening and looks through the crack. He waits and then climbs up another step, pushing his head out of the opening to get a better look. “It's clear. We can get out now, but you should still follow me. I know a safe route to put some distance between us and them.” I follow him up the ladder. He offers me a hand to help me out, but I ignore the insult. 

We run until we are about a half mile away, then come to a stop in an alley just as the sun starts to set in the west. “Well, its safe to part ways now, thanks again for the hel-” he frowns at my chest. 

I look down. “What?”

“Is that my sweater?” 

“No.” 

He puts his hand in one of the holes on the chest. “This 'is' my sweater! How did you get it?”

“Don't be absurd!”

I'm taken by surprise when he quickly slams me up against the alley wall. “You went to my house?!”

“No. I took it off a laundry line. I didn't know it was yours.”

“Why? You said you were rich!”

“Get your hand off me!” I push him away from me. “I took it because I had to... I was planning on buying you a new one!”

“Yeah, right.”

“Trust me. The last thing I wanted to do is put this ratty sweater on. Who knows, I probably have lice now.”

“I don't have lice.” he says defensively and grabs me by the sweater again and gets in my face angrily. Wow, this child has some rage issues. 

“Well, sorry if I don't take your word for it, but the place was a total dump. I had to emotionally prepare myself for any outcome before even touching this thing. And I don't get why you are so mad? I'll buy you another one when I get my money from Batman.”

His mean scowl turns soft as he loosens his grip on my sweater. “Really?... Why?”

“Because... We're friends.” I say, trying to fight the wicked grin spreading across my face. 

He lets go of me. “Then why are you grinning like you aren't my friend?”

“What? You have something against the way I grin?”

“Yeah. It's creepy.”

“Why are you so rude?!” I scowl at him.

He takes my sudden annoyance as a threat and grabs hold of me again. “Why am I so rude? You're the one who was spying on my mom!”

“What? I was not spying on your mother!”

“Shhh!” he lets go of me and starts fixing his hair, then tries to look casual as he looks to the end of the alley. I look over to see some girls walking by on the sidewalk.

One of the girls stops and waves flirtatiously at him. “Hey!” 

He grins and waves back. “Hi Alisha!” They both stand there like two hormonal primates, just grinning at each other and staring from a few yards away as her friends walk past her. The whole scene was making me sick to my stomach.

“Hello?” I say aggressively, trying to break the spell. “Earth to Jason!” I honestly don't know if he is ignoring me, or if he really doesn't hear me.

One of Alisha’s friends grabs her arm and pulls on her. “Alisha, he's in fifth grade. What is wrong with you?” Alisha looks at her friend and then back at Jason and grins a few more seconds while batting her eye lashes. My eyes start to roll to the back of my head by an uncontrollable impulse. “Good-bye, Todd!” She says in a manner that is drenched in the pathetic emotion called 'love'. 

Once she was out of sight he looks back at me, still with hearts in his eyes and then sighs. “Isn't she one hot babe? She's in seventh grade though. Do you think she's too old for me? Her friends do.” he rambles.

“Oh god.” I slap my hand to my face in annoyance that somehow I didn't put it together sooner.

“What?...”

“Your last name is Todd... as in Jason Peter Todd? That particular 'Todd'?” 

His eyes widen. “Whoa... how'd you know my middle name?”

I was silent a moment, not caring to come up with an explanation. “I was just hoping I had misheard your last name earlier.”

He suddenly pushes me against the wall... again. “You working with Fish?! Huh? Are ya, kid?” 

I grab his arm and twist it behind him, then slam him down onto a wooden crate. “Don't call me 'kid'”

“I'll admit... you got some moves, but... so do I!” he surprises me when he is able to break free from my restraint. He pushes me away and grabs something and throws liquid in my eyes, blinding me momentarily. Just as my sight recovers, something hard is smashed on my head and his foot lands on my chest, pushing me backwards. 

“Enough!” I regain my balance, “I am this close to murdering you, mutt!”

“Bring it, Buttercup!” He waves his fingers to me in a cheesy ninja-wave that he probably got from watching a stupid ninja movie. 

“Oh god. Honestly, Todd. Everything you do makes me cringe to the very core of my being.” He tries to use an undisciplined, karate move on me, but this time I leave no room for errors, nor do I take this child's abilities lightly. The ending result is me effortlessly knocking him off his feet, and then to top it off in style, I put my boot to his face and press down. He remains silent and grabs hold of my ankle, while I take in the image of him being under my shoe. “Now, Todd. What do you say we go back to your mother's house and I'll instruct her on how to discipline you properly?”

“What the hell are you talking about? You're gonna tell my mom? What kind of kid are you?”

“A brilliant one.” I lean my entire body weight on the one leg that is on the side of his face. “I think we should start with a bedtime. Your mother will have to put you to bed every night at say-... seven O'clock.”

“What?! How am I supposed to feed my family then?” 

I ignore his protest. “'Spare the rod, spoil the child' will be your families motto from now on. You will get spankings every time you do something bad. That, or I will come back to your house and send you to juvy myself.”

“Go ahead! Tell my parents I'm a thief! See if they care!”

“They will, unless...” I take my foot off his face, and he scowls up at me. “Unless you are lying to me about having a mother?” the child doesn't look at me. “Well, do you?”

“Course I do, dumb ass. Everyone has parents.” He rubs the dirt, from my boot, off his cheek.

“Yes, but not everyone has parents in their life... So answer the question truthfully. Do you presently have parents in your life?”

He stands up and faces me. “I got parents all right! Two fat'n, sassy parents!... Why does it matter to you anyhow?”

“I guess it doesn't. But I just didn't think you did.”

“Why's that?”

“Because...” I hesitate. I can't tell him that his parents are going to die in the not too distant future, but they very well could already be dead, so I try to come up with something else quick. “Well, firstly. You are roaming around the streets of the worst part of Gotham after dark. Late past midnight, to be more specific. If you had parents, I think they would have known about it by now and put a stop to it.”

“My parents know about it, and they still let me do whatever I want.”

“You might be an annoying brat, but no parent lets their kid run around after dark, in this city. They'd have to be nuts!” 

He gets to his feet and brushes off his clothes. “I have parents, I didn't say I had good ones.”

“Todd. Take me back to your house. I need to speak with your mother immediately.”

“What's that behind you?” He points behind me with wide eyes.

“'tt' You really think I'm going to fall for that.” I keep my eyes locked on him.

“No, dude. Seriously. What is that thing?” 

“For a chronic liar, you are simply awful at lying. I might tell your mother to consider putting you in some acting lessons. It might save Batman a lot of trouble.” Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that, but luckily the kid doesn't seem to have caught it.

“[Anomaly found.]” I hear a computerized voice behind me and the child stares with his mouth gaping open. I turn around to see a small orb shape drone, hovering at eye level as it nears me slowly. “[ You have violated the time line. Your presence here is unacceptable. You must be placed back in your rightful time. I am Marge, an artificial intelligence of the U.G.O.T. I am here to manage you while we wait for your escort back to your proper timeline.]”

“What is it talking about?” Jason says.

“I'm not from this... place. And the cavalry has finally arrived to rescue me.” I walk towards the a.i. “Take me home then.”

“[I repeat. I am not equipped to take you home. When an anomaly has taken place, my job is to find the anomaly and keep them from doing any more damage to the timeline while we wait for your abstraction back to your proper time.]”

“How long must we wait?”

“[An absolute minimum of fifty-six hours before abstraction. Until then, I will be guiding you through everything you may encounter, to help keep the damage to the timeline at a minimal. You must follow my commands, and if you cannot comply, I have been given full permission to terminate you from existence entirely.]” It opens a small compartment and a small object hovers towards me. “[Please implant this in your ear so that I can alert you of any further and/or potential damage you may cause to the timeline.]”

“How have I damaged the timeline so far?”

“[Multiple offenses. I cannot say anything more in front of your companion. Please put the ear piece in so that we may speak discreetly.]”

I look back at the street rat and then put the bud in my ear, suddenly a pain shoots through my head. “Argh!” I drop to my knees and put my hand to my throbbing ear.

“Are you all right?” Jason gets down next to me. “Dude, you're bleeding.” I touch my ear and look at my hand that is now red with blood. 

The drone hovers toward Jason and I. “[Jason Todd of the year 2006. You have been compromised by this anomaly. You must be put back on the right course. This child cannot endanger your future any longer. You are supposed to be arriving at your home in ten minutes. I suggest you head there in haste. Your mother needs you.]” A look of fear comes over his face and he forgets about me entirely and starts racing down the street in the desk of the evening. The drone turns back to me. “[I cannot risk being spotted by anyone else. I am able to communicate to you, through the ear piece, accurate information to keep you from creating further damage.]” The a.i. disappears before my eyes in a flash of light. 

“Wait. What should I do until you come back?” The a.i. doesn't answer, so I look down the road where Jason is heading and I start running after him. He's quite a bit ahead of me, but I am still able to follow him to his home, and I might as well. What else am I supposed to do for the next couple days? Besides Jason's mother might be dead, and he might need a shoulder to cry on... I'll probably have to find him that shoulder.

 

It's already dark by the time I see him racing down a dump of a neighborhood. He runs up a porch and opens the front door and runs inside. I stop at the steps, and slowly walk up the steps to the door while hearing screaming between a man and a woman from inside the house. Then I hear Jason's voice demanding to be heard. “Leave her alone!”

“Where the fuck have you been, boy?!”

“Leave him alone, Willis!” 

“You answer me!” I hear furniture moving and then glass breaking as the woman's voice becomes full of terror. “Let go of him!” 

“Shut up!” I hear someone being slapped and I no longer can resist peeking. I look in the crack of the partly open front door, only to see a mean looking lowlife dragging a woman, whom I presume to be Jason's mother, by the hair while Jason tries to pry the man's hands off her. The man pushes her to the ground and then grabs Jason by the hair and starts slapping him instead. 

Jason tries to grab the man's hand to stop him, but the tall man throws him to the ground, then stoops down, grabbing him by the hair again and slams his head against the hard floors a few times before the woman grabs his arm and starts screaming hysterically. I clench my fist ready to intervene, but try my hardest not too. I start to wonder if this is only happening because I messed up the time line already. 

“Let go of him! Let go of my baby!” 

“Don't touch me again, bitch, or I'll kill him!”

He pulls Jason up to face him. “You wanna know what your mother's been doing today, boy? I caught her red handed. She's been cheating on me with Bernie. She's a little slut.”

“He was just visiting, Willis. He stopped by to see you and since you weren't home I asked if he wanted some tea. That's all! Nothing happened!”

“Stop lying to me! Stop lying!” He lets go of Jason, letting his torso fall to the ground and grabs his wife by her arms and starts yelling in her face. I'm not sure if the man is drunk or not, but his speech is slurring so much I can hardly understand anything he's yelling. He pushes his wife to the ground again and pulls off his belt and starts whipping her with it, brutally. Jason races to his mother's rescue and pushes his father away then bites his hand. “ARRGH! You little bitch!” He turns his wrath back to Jason, grabbing him by both his ears tightly, threatening to rip them off and controls him backwards all the way to the bedroom then throws him in there. He shuts the door and locks it, the door knob is on backwards probably for such occasions. Then Willis turns his rage back to his wife as she backs away on the floor in fear. There is a violent pounding on the door, probably from Jason throwing his entire body against it, trying to break it open. 

“You're going to be sorry you ever were born, whore.” Willis says, then grabs the broom and snaps it over his knee and walks back towards the woman.

“Jay baby!” His mother cries out to him. “Cover your ears! Cover your ears, Jason!” The struggle at the locked bedroom door stops as Willis raises the stick to beat his wife. I have to intervene. I can't allow this to continue on, but just before I race to the rescue, Jason comes running through the backdoor and jumps up in the air grabbing hold of one end of the broomstick and as soon as he lands on his feet, he's in a tug-a-war with his father over the stick, but the man over powers him quickly, tossing him across the room. He raises the stick again and proceeds to beat the woman, striking her three times in the face, before Jason was able to intervene again, only to be thrown aside once more, but with greater force this time. Another two strikes on the woman, and this time Jason races to his mother and throws himself on top of her. The man stops for a moment. “Get out of the way. I said, GET OUT OF THE WAY!” he doesn't even allow the boy time to obey his command before he starts beating him, too. 

Jason's mother is crying as her face is already massively swelling and she tries to move Jason away from her, but he only grips onto her tighter and puts both his hands protecting her face from any further assault. 

“Stop! You're going to kill him!” the woman cries and starts wrapping her hands around the back of Jason's head to protect him the best she can and the man relentlessly beats him.

“Stop! Please, Dad! Please!” I hear him crying in agony.

“You stupid boy! You want me to stop?! Then get out of my fucking way!” Willis slurs his words and grabs Jason, trying to pull him off, but he held onto his mother as if she was life itself. They're both dragged a few feet before Willis lets go and grabs the stick again. “You fucking fool! Maybe you'll learn this time! M-maybe you'll finally learn there's no reward for sacrifice!” Jason continues to shelter his mother with his own body, as his father continues beating him again and again with the wooden broomstick, hitting him across his back. His mother cries out and tries to roll on top of him to protect her child, but he fights her determinately, keeping her pinned to the ground. Jason's not a big kid for his age, but his mother is almost as small as he is, and despite him being smaller, he's much stronger than his sickly mother. She doesn't waste anytime before resuming to use her hands and arms to shield her baby's skull and back from as much of the beating as she can.

Willis seems relentless in his fit of rage and Jason is grunting with each strike and his mother echoes the cry, either from emotional damage it's inflicting on her, or an injury that is being irritated. I can't stand to watch any longer. I start to rise to my feet to attack the abuser, but I was interrupted by Marge blasting in my ear. “[Damian Wayne. You cannot intervene with this. You could bring severe damage to the time line.]”

“Severe? This is severe damage to someone's life.”

“[You cannot intervene.]”

“How do I know this was even supposed to happen? You told me already that I have changed things. What if his father is really going to kill him, because of me? I have to stop this.”

“[No. Jason Todd is a high priority personage. His life reaches out and effects many lives. These are things that must happen that will effect the way he views the world. In ten years of Jason Todd's life, he was hospitalized a total of twenty-three times before the age eleven for broken bones and other blunt trauma injuries, all of which the child and parents claimed were caused by accidents or clumsiness. He was diagnosed with depression and suicidal behavior by the time he was six years of age right before the first investigation took place.]” I stare as the beating continues on, and Willis starts to grow tired from all the energy he's spent. “[Jason was taken into child protective services a total of forty-two times. All of which he escaped and ended up back home with his parents. The cycle of abuse continued until Willis Todd was finally convicted of multiple accounts, such as domestic abuse, assault with a deadly weapon and multiple other felonies. Not long after being free from their abuser, Katherine Todd dies from a drug overdose. And Young Jason Todd continues living on his own, and participating in criminal activities from that point on for two years before he meets the Batman. This has already happened. You cannot, and should not change it.]”

“What if the world was a little more kind to Jason Todd. Then maybe he won't grow up to be a mass murderer, killing hundreds. Can you honestly tell me that's not for the better?”

“[There are several VIP's that Jason kills in his life time. If you change his childhood, you will change his adulthood. The outcome would be catastrophic to countless others. If he chooses not to kill those VIP's then those VIP's lives will reach out to devastate countless others, creating a string of events that will change the world forever... If you cannot remain an observer, than please, remove yourself from the situation, or I will terminate you for violating the commands of U.G.O.T.]”

“But wouldn't that be catastrophic to kill me?... Hello?... Marge?” 

“[Please remove yourself from the perimeters.]” 

“'tt'” I step backwards onto the porch, just as Willis stops beating his family. He drops the stick and stands there in silence then drops to his knees and brushes his hand down Jason's motionless body. “Look... Look what you made me do, boy.” he starts crying and pulls Jason off his mother and onto his back then sweeps him up in his arms and sobs. “Jason?... I didn't mean to hurt you... I didn't mean to hurt you...Jason?” He lifts Jason up and races to the kitchen table and lays him down on his stomach and pulls his shirt off. “Katherine, boil some hot water. Now!” 

She slowly gets to her feet, blinded by her swollen face and tears as she starts filling a pot up with water and puts it on the gas stove. I watch them as they start to clean the welts on Jason's back, and I’m filled with even more anger at the fact that they can't even clean his wounds properly, or carefully. They just put towels into the boiling water and then slab it on his back causing him to cry out and squirm. They don't use any kind of antibiotic or disinfectant on the popped welts on his skin. I can't watch anymore, afraid I'll race in there and beat his father up for being such an evil parent, so I walk away for awhile to cool down.

I go to peek through the window again, only to see that Jason is fully conscious now, as his father is trying very hard to act kind, affectionate and remorseful towards him, to either sway him or his mother, or both into believing he cares about them still. It makes me sick to bare witness to such things. I knew Jason's parents were lousy, but I didn't know it was this bad. I'm disappointed my father didn't tell me, but I suppose it could be possible that he didn't know the severity of the abuse either, but still... unlikely.

Willis brushes his hand against Jason's cheek, lovingly. “This parts going to hurt, but it will be over soon.” he pours rum on his back sending a tremble through the child's body. “You're gonna be fine...” he bends over and kisses Jason's cheek. “I love you... Okay?” He brushes Jason's hair off his forehead and places another kiss there.

Jason turns his face to his other side where his mom is standing and grabs her hand. Willis starts pouting at seeing his affection being rejected. He stands up and walks to the front door, angry again. I hide in the bushes as he comes out and gets in his old truck and drives away. 

I look back into the window to see Jason sitting up and his mom starts crying and gently holds him in her arms for a few moments, before he pulls away and grabs the bottle of rum and pours some in his hand and starts dabbing it on her face. I suddenly feel pent up anger as I back away from the window and race down the street. I need to get away, and get my mind off what I've witnessed.

**Author's Note:**

> More coming soon!


End file.
